THE difference between the haves and the have-nots can rarely be more graphically illustrated than at Goodison this evening.

Just 18 months ago, Everton ended the Premier League season in fifth place, their third successive European qualification and a full 12 points ahead of tonight’s opponents Tottenham Hotspur.

If anyone was going to challenge the quadopoly of the Champions League berths, it was David Moyes’ side.

Of course, it hasn’t panned out that way. While the Goodison manager has been forced to work within tight financial restraints, Tottenham counterpart Harry Redknapp has been lavished by huge backing from the White Hart Lane owners.

What a net spend of more than £20m – on top of the £20m outlay from the previous 12 months – has bought is clear, with Tottenham following last season’s top-four finish by reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League and launching a genuine title challenge.

By contrast, Everton are hovering down by the relegation zone as the two teams meet at Goodison tonight.

And having worked hard to help his team punch above their weight in recent years, Moyes concedes pure finance is in danger of surpassing coaching talent in the modern game.

“I’ve said many times that if the game of football just becomes about money then that will be sad,” says the Goodison manager. “I have to hope that it’s not always the big spenders that win and there are young managers coming through that can challenge those big teams.

“You hope that it is not just money that becomes the biggest thing. Tottenham have spent but we have tried to keep our best players and not sell them and when I took the job that was the one thing I asked. Sometimes you can’t stop them but we have done that.

“I have said many times that Sunderland, Stoke and Birmingham are the sides that have spent recently. We have tended not to be in that position for quite a while.”

Of Tottenham’s improvement, Moyes adds: “It is something which has been coming, the club has continually invested in players.

“I think you would expect them to come through. We have been competing with them over a few years, finishing fifth or sixth, but I think Tottenham have always had that financial clout that comes from being a big club in London.

“They have got a massive squad. Look at the spending they have put into the club over the last few years.

“They’re probably as big spenders as most clubs, including Chelsea. Not as big as Man City, obviously, but up there with the best.”

Everton’s supporters are more than aware of the club’s financial predicament, highlighted by their chants at Eastlands during the 2-1 win against moneybags Manchester City last month.

And Moyes is realistic enough to accept that the Goodison outfit require fresh investment if they are to resume their progress of recent years.

“Yes, I say it all the time,” says the Scot. “I look and I think Everton would be a great club to buy. We have a consistent and great fanbase and we have assets and money on the pitch.

“We have a decent training ground, we are obviously short of a stadium so I have said many times that I’m surprised.

“But the chairman has said that if anyone is interested they should come and speak to us. he is out there lobbying.

“It is not something the chairman is hiding and he is out there saying we need investment and that is a fact. But it is a good club to be involved with, it’s a great history and there is a lot of value and investment on the pitch.”

That value is not something Moyes considered cashing in on last summer. And despite Everton’s struggles in the first half of the campaign, the Goodison manager is standing by that decision.

“You have to look at why we said keep them together,” says the Scot. “We had not had people playing well, we had guys coming back from injuries namely Jagielka, Victor, Yak and Arteta and we lost two out of 24 games from shortly before Christmas time.

“You could see by the results that we were getting the goals even though we didn’t score them through centre-forwards.

“I reckon if we had let one of them go and been in this position then people would be saying ‘you’re in this position because you let X or Y go’.

“But we kept them and it’s the same group of players who five or six months ago were knocking away most teams in front of them.

“I believe in them because I know what they can do. We need to be more ruthless and carry a but more luck at times but overall we have the same group.

“But the players have to produce more because we are not getting results and we need to produce more.

“The manager will always take the flak it is my team and my responsibility and you cannot duck away from that and it will always be the case but the players cross the line and we will do everything we can to prepare them and get them ready.”